Lightweight composites are preferred for automotive applications due to the weight restrictions and also due to the presence of inherent voids that can enhance the sound absorption of these composites. The density of the reinforcing materials plays a crucial role in such lightweight composites. Milkweed is a unique natural cellulose fiber that has a completely hollow center and low density (0.9...

One of the most famous methods to predict the stiffness of short fiber composites is micromechanical modeling. In this study, a Representative Volume Element (RVE) of a beech wood flour natural composite has been designed and the orientation averaging approach has been utilized to predict its stiffness tensor. The novelty of this work is in finding the proper fiber orientation distribution func...

This study focused on the contribution of micromechanical parameters on the macro-mechanical response of short fiber composites, namely polypropylene matrix reinforced by glass fibers. In the framework of this paper, an attention has been given to the glass fibers length, as micromechanical parameter influences the overall macroscopic material’s behavior. Three dimensional numerical models were...

The results presented in this paper explore the extent to which indentation in the interfacial region of polymer composites can be used to identify, unambiguously, an interphase of distinct elastic properties. Supporting evidence is presented in the form of AFM-indentation in the interfacial region of two polymer composites, a glass fibre-reinforced vinylester and a glass flake-reinforced polyp...

Plastics occupy wide place in the applications of automotive, electronics and house goods. Especially reinforced plastics become popular because of their high strength besides their advantages of low weight and easy manufacturability. In this study, mechanical and morphological properties of polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix composites reinforced with surface modifi...

Polymer nanocomposites are new classes of composite materials derived from nanoparticles with at least one dimension in the nanometric range. Polypropylene nanocomposites have attracted a considerable interest due to its most widely used and fastest growing classes of thermoplastic polymer with low cost and low density. However, a problem associated with polypropylene is its dyeability. There h...

Switchgrass (SG) stems with lengths up to 10 cm have been used as reinforcement to make lightweight composites with polypropylene (PP) webs. The long SG stems, with simple cut or split and without chemical treatment, were used directly in the composites. Utilizing SG stems for composites not only increases the values of SG but also provides a green, sustainable and biodegradable material for th...